Football - Mt Pleasant vs Southmoreland

August 23, 2019

Southmoreland Claims Bragging Rights in 27-14 Win at Mt Pleasant

In case you didn't know, it's a big deal when Mount Pleasant and Southmoreland sports teams play each other. At one time they were fierce conference rivals in football. Now they are in different classifications and don't play each other in the regular season. But, still rivals? Oh yeah. And the season-opening Week Zero game is the perfect opportunity for these two neighbor school districts to get together and chase a football around the turf with a year of bragging rights on the line. This years battle, played on Friday, August 23 at Mt. Pleasant's Viking Stadium, ended with bragging rights for the Scotties, who beat the host Vikings 27-14 for their second win in two years. But it was anything but pretty.

Southmoreland's Riley Conforti lit up the visitors' crowd early as he returned the Vikings opening kickoff to midfield. But the Scotties first drive stalled when Mount Pleasant's Donovan Bair picked off a 3rd-and-17 pass to put the Vikings on offense less than three minutes into the game. Forced to punt following a three-and-out, Bair's kick was blocked as the Scotties' Brandon Peterson applied the pressure, setting up Southmoreland at the Vikings' 11-yard line. Unable to punch it in the end zone, the Scotties 31-yard field goal attempt on fourth down was wide, keeping the game scoreless at 6:22 remaining in the first quarter.

Mount Pleasant took over at the 20-yard line, but coughed up the ball with a fumble on the opening play of the possession, as Colt Firmstone pounced on the loose ball for the Scotties. An apparent 12-yard touchdown sprint by Colt Harper on the next play was called back on a chop block penalty, and Southmoreland went to work again after the penalty yardage markoff. A pass interference call in the end zone gave the Scotties drive new life, and quarterback Zach Cernuto called his own number and sprinted for the end zone, only to come up a yard short. Then on first and goal from the one, the Scotties were stymied again as Colt Harper had the ball squirt loose just shy of the stripe and Mount Pleasant recovered for the touchback. However, Mount Pleasant gave it back soon after as Harper intercepted a Vikings third down pass, giving the Scotties possession at the Vikings 29-yard line. Following an opening nine minutes that saw both teams lose a fumble and toss an interception, as well as a blocked Vikings punt, the Scotties ran out the rest of the quarter as they drove into the red zone.

Southmoreland finally broke the scoring drought as Colt Harper carried it into the end zone from 3 yards out as only 48 seconds ticked off the second quarter clock. A botched Southmoreland extra point kick got a reprieve when Mount Pleasant was called for a penalty, setting up the Scotties for a two-point conversion as Harper carried it in following the half-the-distance penalty markoff, and Southmoreland led 8-0.

Mount Pleasant had their next drive come to a halt with a fumble in front of the Southmoreland bench. But the Scotties turned it back to the Vikings after failing to convert on a fourth down play. The teams traded punts as the clock wound down before Mount Pleasant got on the board with a 13-yard run by Jacob Johnson with 53.4 seconds left in the half. The PAT kick failed, and Southmoreland didn't threaten for the remaining of the half as they took a 8-6 lead to the locker room.

The Vikings couldn't get anything moving on their first possession of the second half and were forced to punt. The Scotties quickly went to work with a Zach Cernuto to Riley Conforti 30-yard pass hookup, putting the Scotties in business at the Vikings 7 yard line. Colt Harper rushed for his second touchdown on the next play, making the Scotties lead 14-6 as the point-after attempt failed. Southmoreland scored again in the final minute of the quarter as Bret Huffman carried it in from the 3 yard line. The two-point conversion attempt failed, and Southmoreland led 20-6 with 26.9 remaining in the third. Colt Harper intercepted his second Vikings pass of the game with 6.7 seconds left in the quarter, and the Scotties retook possession on the Vikings 28 yard line.

Harper scored his hat-trick touchdown with 6:43 remaining in the game with a 4-yard run, and the PAT kick made the score 27-6. Mount Pleasant added a 56-yard touchdown reception to Jacob Johnson from Asher O'Connor at 3:18 remaining, and Donovan Bair caught the two-point conversion pass from O'Connor to close it to 27-14. Mount Pleasant's onside kick was called back on an offside penalty, and following a touchback on the deep kickoff, Southmoreland ran out the clock for the win.

Both teams move on to their regular WPIAL schedule next week. Southmoreland hosts Frazier at 7 PM at Russ Grimm Field. Mount Pleasant takes the long drive to Hopewell next Friday for a 7 PM start.

Watch this link for a full gallery of action photos available for purchase or sharing the day after the game.

Keywords: boys, football, high school, mount pleasant, southmoreland, westmoreland county